It’s no secret that Netflix has a great talent for original series'. House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Narcos and Bloodline all have been making the rounds and garnering critical acclaim. The comedy series, Master of None, was released on November 6th. It is a creation from the mind of Aziz Ansari and his writing partner Alan Yang. It follows the life of Aziz Ansari’s character Dev Shaw and his daily going-ons in New York City. On paper, you’re right, that doesn’t sound original or appealing at all. But what makes the show really stand out is its precision. It’s stylized and gorgeous to watch, using each episode to talk about social issues and the characters are surprisingly rich and deep.

Aziz Ansari is, obviously, a particularly noteworthy actor in the show. Anybody who’s familiar with Ansari’s work (Parks and Rec, Funny People) know him as a character actor. He’s always bouncing off the walls, always giving a big eyed, open mouthed smile for everything. And to an extent, that element of Ansari is present in Dev. His love for pasta always gets him super stoked and his smile is nonstop when he’s flirting with girls. But there’s also an Aziz Ansari rarely seen. The episodes are very clearly pulled from serious parts of his life. His actual parents play his TV parents, and because these episodes come from a real place, you can see a real pain and confusion when Ansari refuses to do an Indian accent for a part in a show, or when he feels bad about not caring about his parents’ stories. It gets even more emotionally rich when he starts wondering about the odds of a soul mate and what the point of marriage is. Again, these topics may sound trite and maybe even a little hackneyed, but Ansari discusses them and gives his slanted views on the subject matter with an energy and earnestness that, if it seems forced, it’s only to really get you thinking about it.

Another aspect of the show that is startling is how gorgeous it is. Every shot is composed and lighted in a way so that it looks like a Pinterest board or some Instagram-famous person. There’s a particular sequence where Dev makes home made pasta and the whole thing is drenched in sunlight; the term food porn doesn’t even do it justice. The style is consistent visually and every episode, like it should, feels like another brush stroke on a mural. This is also due partly to the impressive direction by Eric Wareheim (Tim & Eric) who plays Dev’s best buddy and also directs a large amount of episodes.

That’s what makes the show so impressive though. Everyone is really giving 100% of his or her effort. Noel Wells absolutely crushes it as Dev’s love interest and the onscreen chemistry her and Ansari share is real and palpable. They say cute couple things and have little inside jokes that you can feel were a part of Ansari or Yang’s actual love life. The show almost seems like a form of therapy for the two show runners. As if they had to get these worries and fears and emotions out in a creative way. Because of this, the show seems intimate and honest and just a great experience.

But is it funny? I’d be lying if I said it was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. In terms of laughs, it very much pales in comparison to the likes of 30 Rock or Arrested Development, but many things do when compared to those giants. What is interesting about the show is that it finds humor in murky, gray areas where you might not be inclined to laugh initially. For example, one of the strongest episodes in the season, called “Parents,” opens up with his Dev and his buddy Brian visiting their respective dads. When the dads ask for a menial favor (updating an ipad, buying rice) the young men swiftly shut them down because they don’t want to miss the trailers for the movie they’ve planned to see. Then the viewer is shown the hardships and struggles of their parents’ immigration process into the US, just so their snobby kids can be ungrateful and unhelpful. In this way, the show isn’t gut busting laughter but the ones that do land also make you think and feel and maybe even groan with embarrassment (for having also been an offender). All in all, Master of None is a good, good show.